1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a treatment method of semiconductor wafers and the like and a treatment system for the same; more specifically, the present invention relates to a treatment method of semiconductor wafers and the like, comprising a series of cleaning processes including a chemical process for removing dust, organic residues and inorganic residues or the like from surfaces of solid objects such as semiconductor silicon wafer, liquid crystal board and masking board by using several types of cleaning chemicals and a subsequent final water rinsing process (rinsing process) for rinsing off the cleaning chemicals from the object surface by using rinsing pure water, and a drying process of removing the rinsing pure water attached on the object surface, namely attached water (water drops) after completion of the final water rinsing process of the cleaning process, wherein these processes are carried out step by step in a sealed container. More specifically, the present invention relates to the improvement of a vapor treatment method and a treatment system for the same, wherein the removal of the attached water on the surface of the object is carried out at a drying process of mixing substitution using an organic solvent comprising a material readily mixable with the attached water and having a lower surface tension, for example IPA (isopropyl alcohol).
2. Description of the Background Art
A variety of processes have been developed and proposed, conventionally, as a vapor treatment method comprising a series of cleaning processes from a chemical process for removing dust, organic residues or inorganic residues from the surface of the object by using several types of cleaning chemicals to a final water rinsing process for rinsing off the chemicals from the surfaces of the objects by using rinsing pure water, and a drying process of removing the attached water on the surfaces of the objects through mixing substitution with the vapor of an organic solvent, for example IPA (isopropyl alcohol), wherein these processes are carried out in a sealed container.
For example, these processes have been known, as described in published gazettes such as Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 62-136825 (referred to as former, hereinbelow) and Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-130699 (referred to as latter, hereinbelow).
According to the former vapor treatment process, however, an organic solvent in vapor is supplied from the top of a container into the container while rinsing pure water is pushed downward, to push out the water from the bottom of the container on completion of a series of rinsing processes. In other words, a pressure required to continuously supply an organic solvent vapor and to push down rinsing pure water and discharge the water from the bottom side of the container should be loaded appropriately, until the rinsing pure water is totally pushed down and discharged outside of the container. Because the former requires a vast amount of an organic solvent should be fed into the container per one drying process (per one cycle process), therefore, the former is disadvantageous and uneconomical from the respect of the cost. Because the organic solvent vapor should be fed into the container under a pressure required to push out rinsing pure water in the container, a gas pressuring means such as pump is essential.
According to the latter vapor treatment method, on contrast, the feeding of an organic solvent vapor into a sealed chamber is initiated, simultaneously when a object is drawn up from pure water in a rinsing tank, into the sealed chamber which is enclosing the rinsing tank, after the final water rinsing process of the cleaning process is performed in the rinsing tank fed with rinsing pure water, thereby condensation of the organic solvent vapor occurs on the surface of the object and the attached water is substituted with the organic solvent. In other words, the supply of the organic solvent vapor into the sealed chamber should be continued, at least until the object is completely drawn up from the pure water and the inside of the large sealed chamber is filled with the organic solvent vapor. Thus, like the former, the latter requires a vast amount of an organic solvent to be continuously supplied per drying process (per one cycle process), so that the latter is also costly and uneconomical.